


Bagpipe Serenade

by IzuKou



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Awkward Encounters, Itty bitty Oikawa, M/M, bagpipes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-20
Updated: 2015-07-20
Packaged: 2018-04-10 10:22:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4388171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IzuKou/pseuds/IzuKou
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Oikawa Tooru was fascinated by bagpipes at a young age and grew up playing them alongside volleyball. He met Hinata Shouyou and promised to play his instrument for him at some point. He decides that a serenade is the best way to go about this.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bagpipe Serenade

**Author's Note:**

> Based off of a headcanon that I posted a while back; it can be found [here](http://mommasuga.tumblr.com/post/114811222073/just-imagine-oikawa-standing-under-hinatas-window). Happy Birthday, Oikawa Tooru!

Oikawa Tooru was six years old when he first laid his eyes on a set of bagpipes. He was with his mother and older sister at a small festival on the edge of their town in the middle of the day when the instrument drew his attention. There was laughter and loud talking, as well as many types of music all around him, but one instrument caught his attention more than the others.

The way the sunlight reflected off of the polished wood of the drones and chanter made it appear as though they were actually emitting light themselves. The small boy slipped his hand out of his elder sister’s and toddled over to the bagpiper, entranced by the glowing instrument. He tilted his head up and was slightly startled to find the man staring down at him, his fingers dancing over the holes on the chanter. A smile formed on the elderly man’s face, deep dimples showing on his cheeks. The mouthpiece slipped from his lips, and he crouched down so that he was eye level with Oikawa.

“You interested in my bagpipes, kid?” He asked, patting the bag of the instrument lightly.

Oikawa’s soft brown hair bounced as he nodded enthusiastically, reaching his chubby little hands out towards the bagpipes. A small sound escaped his throat suddenly, and he paused, looking at the bagpiper as if asking permission. He earned a tiny inclination of the head in response, and the instrument was pushed towards him ever so slightly.

The tiny child placed his hand on the bag gently, rubbing it back and forth over the multicoloured fabric. It was soft and velvety, extremely pleasant to touch. He pinched the fabric a bit between his index finger and thumb and pulled. It pulled out slightly, but not as far he had been expecting it to. Fascinated by the pipes’ bag, his mouth dropped open and formed a small oblong shape.

“Tooru!”

The small child’s head whipped around, and his hand jerked back at the sound of his name. A sophisticated young woman with short, curly, dark brown hair and a teenaged girl with a side ponytail of lighter brown hair, both slightly out of breath, stood a short ways away from Oikawa and the old man. Their gazes softened, and the worry in their russet eyes leaked away slowly. The older woman, his mother, treaded slowly over the healthy, green grass, her daughter trailing behind her. She bent forward until she was eye-level with her youngest child.

“Sweetie, you can’t just go wandering off like that…” She told him softly, falling to her knees and pulling him into her arms. She held him tightly against her chest as she ran her fingers gently through his hair. “You scared us both so much.”

“I-I’m sorry, Mama,” Oikawa mumbled, wrapping his tiny arms around her thin neck. He rubbed his face against the lady’s grey, cotton shirt before pulling away a slight bit. His eyes were dancing with excitement as he glanced back over at the bagpiper. “Isn’t his instrument cool, though, Mama??”

The woman’s eyes trailed from her son over to the elderly male, and she smiled at the sight of the bagpipes in his hands.

“Very cool,” she responded, scooping her son up into her arms and standing upright again. “What are they? I’ve never seen anything like them before.”

“They’re bagpipes, ma’am,” he replied, pushing on his knees to stand back up. He grimaced slightly as there was a small cracking sound from his joint. The expression quickly went away and was replaced by a giant grin; he continued to speak. “These are, more specifically, known as Great Highland Bagpipes. There are many different types of bagpipes all over the world, but these ones are the most common.”

A small, high-pitched squeal of excitement escaped Oikawa’s throat as he took in this information.

“I wanna learn how to play them!” The six year old exclaimed, bouncing in his mother’s arms and clutching at her shirt. “Please, Mama!”

“Okay, okay! Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, now, Tooru!” The young woman let out a light laugh and clutched her son tighter to her torso, attempting to calm him down. "Besides, how will you balance this with volleyball?"

"I can do it!"

The musician chuckled softly and shifted his grip on the bagpipes in his arms. He took a few steps towards the Oikawa family.

“I could always teach him how to play,” he offered. “I’m the music teacher at Aoba Jousai high school, and I give lessons to younger children after school and on Sundays.”

The two adults began to discuss the finer details of arranging for the youngest Oikawa to take bagpiping lessons with the older gentleman. A large gust of wind blew through the open area, sending chills up Oikawa’s spine. He sneezed loudly and buried his face in his mother’s shoulder. She patted his back gently and pressed a kiss to the side of his head.

“Ah, do you have a phone number that I could contact you at?” The young gentlewoman inquired suddenly with wide eyes. A small nervous laugh slipped out of her thin, pale pink lips. "Talking about all of this would do no good if I couldn't contact you."

The music teacher nodded with a hearty chuckle and set his bagpipes down onto a table next to him. He slipped a slim case out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a short stack of business cards. Pulling one out, he shut the case again and slid it easily back into his pocket. He handed her the card.

Oikawa's mother glanced down at the card, and a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips. It was rather cute, she had to admit. Small music notes of various colours, accompanied by a music staff, decorated the border of the card. The instructor's name, phone number, and email were all centered and typed in a neat, bold font.

"Maaaamaaaa!" Oikawa's elder sister gripped onto the back of her mother's shirt tightly and tugged on it. She pointed over to a nearby booth, her side ponytail bouncing as her eyes sparkled excitedly. "I wanna go see that next!"

"Yes, yes. Just give me another minute, Sweetie."

The lady placed the card into her pocket and thanked the elderly musician before parting ways with him, promising to contact him if they decided to go through with the lessons. She glanced at the small boy in her arms, a warm, loving smile forming as she found him fast asleep, drooling slightly on her shoulder.

* * *

 

Somehow, in the coming years, Oikawa was able to balance his volleyball practices with his bagipiping lessons. Before getting an actual full set of bagpipes, he was forced to practice on a practice chanter. He had been rather bummed out about that when he found out, but once it was explained to him why, he stopped complaining. He didn’t get a full set of bagpipes until his first year of junior high, but when he finally got them, it was one of the best moments of his young life.

At one point during his time at Kitagawa Daiichi, Oikawa almost gave up on playing the bagpipes ever again. His first game against Shiratorizawa had gone horribly, and he and his team had been utterly defeated. Thereafter, he completely immersed himself in practicing volleyball. Day after day, his arms and legs would be littered with new bruises, and he would leave practice, satisfied by the intense, stinging pains remaining in his hands. He took it as a sign that he had sufficiently practiced for that day. He continued to push himself to the point that he nearly had a full breakdown.

His bagpipes went untouched during this time, and Oikawa completely skipped out on any and all lessons that had been scheduled. His childhood friend, Iwaizumi Hajime, helped him through it and managed to convince him to continue playing, knowing just how much Oikawa truly loved his pipes. After that, Oikawa discovered that playing his instrument when he was under an immense amount of stress helped to calm him down and relax.

At first, it hadn’t been common for the setter to wrap his fingers with tape, but after he was unable to play his bagpipes OR volleyball as a result of his first finger sprain during his second year of junior high, he made sure to always wrap them. He took private lessons up until his first year of high school, after which, since his private instructor was also the music teacher at Aoba Jousai, he simply continued his music education during school hours.

Finally. during his third year of high school, Oikawa met an eccentric redhead during a practice game against Karasuno High School, the school that his former underclassman had chosen to attend. He couldn’t exactly say that it was love at first sight, but it was damn near close to being that. The broad attack that the tiny middle blocker performed for the very final point of their practice match stunned the Seijou captain, the volleyball flying by his right cheek and landing with an echoing smack on the wooden floor of the court. His heart nearly leapt out of his throat. The urge to cross underneath of the net and just grab the boy by the arm to pull him into a kiss was overwhelming, and he nearly did it before he was smacked on the back of the head by Iwaizumi.

Not even ten minutes later, he learned the small spiker’s name. Hinata Shouyou. He nodded to himself. If the kanji used for his name were the ones that he expected, then it most certainly fit him.

A loud thumping sound filled his ears. It took him a few moments to realise that the noise was, in fact, his own heart beating rapidly in his chest and resounding in his head. The only thing he could manage to do at that point was to clutch at the fabric of his loose-fitting t-shirt, directly over his heart. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught Iwaizumi giving him a strange look, and the setter’s cheeks began to steadily redden.

In the back of his mind, a single word reverberated.

“ _Shit._ ”

* * *

 

Nothing could have prepared Oikawa for yet another encounter with Hinata that occurred only a few days later. One minute, he was shopping for new volleyball equipment, the next, he stood in front of the cash register, being glared at intensely by a redheaded midget. An exasperated sigh slipped through his lips, and he shook his head. Hinata jolted back in surprise, his hands shooting up into a defensive stance as the captain suddenly spoke.

"You got a problem with me, Chibi-chan?"

A soft answer followed a pregnant pause.

"N-not really... It's more like..."

He trailed off, and Oikawa watched as Hinata wracked his brain for a good answer. The setter had to smother his laughter as he continued to observe the younger teen. He appeared rather constipated, his increased desperation causing his eyes to narrow and his brows to furrow. Oikawa could have sworn that he even saw smoke leaking out of his ears at one point.

"Don't hurt yourself by thinking too hard, Chibi-chan," Oikawa told him eventually with a small chuckle. He patted his head lightly and was surprised by just how soft the boy's hair was. It was wild and stuck up everywhere, so the third year had been expecting it to be more coarse, but it was the exact opposite. Unconsciously, he ran his fingers back and forth through Hinata's hair, appreciating just how fluffy the orange strands were.

"U-Um... C-Could you please stop that?" A soft voice emanated from Hinata's throat, a hint of a blush dusting his cheeks. He stared up into Oikawa's face, his amber eyes sparkling under the bright overhead lights of the store.

"A-Ah, sorry!" Oikawa apologised quickly while removing the offending hand from the other teen's head. He could feel his face burning in embarrassment and moved the same hand to his own face instead, trying to cover up his bright red cheeks.

They stared at each other intently as an empty silence fell between them, the sounds of the surrounding customers' shoes squeaking or clacking across the floor while they babbled away wrapping around them in an almost suffocating manner.

The silence was broken, however, by a soft cough to Oikawa’s left. They both turned to find the source of the noise, and the Seijou captain nearly choked at the sight of one of his classmates, a small girl named Harada Kyoko, standing behind the register and bowing her head. She looked up at both of them; her face was so red that she looked as though she may actually combust right then and there.

“I-I’m so sorry!” Hinata squeaked out, his own blush darkening heavily. He hurriedly placed the kneepads that he was holding down onto the counter and stared down at his shoes as he pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Harada rang him up quickly and handed him the bag with his purchase inside.

“P-Please come again,” the girl stuttered out softly with a small inclination of her head, her short brown pigtails bobbing with the motion.

Oikawa followed suit, placing his own items down on the counter and then watching as his classmate dazedly scanned each item. It was obvious that she was trying to avoid eye contact with him. He sighed.

“I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone about what just happened, Harada-chan.”

The small girl, startled by the sudden sound of his voice, jumped in fright, accidentally dropping the item that she had been scanning. She nodded frantically while she finished, still refusing to meet his gaze.

“Thank you!” Oikawa paid for his purchases with a bright smile. “I’d never hear the end of it if Iwa-chan found out about this.”

Harada handed him a small plastic bag with his goods in them and let out a small giggle at that. As soon as she realised what she did, she immediately clapped her hand over her mouth and prepared to apologise.

Oikawa let out a loud laugh and waved it off, moving to depart from the store. As the sliding doors in front of him opened up, he heard a high-pitched “Thank you for your patronage!” called out to him.

When the doors slid shut behind him, he glanced around, trying to decide which of his errands he would complete next. Instead, he found Hinata leaning against a square pillar across the way, Oikawa made his way over to him and leaned against one of the other sides of the pillar.

“Did you need something else from me, Chibi-chan?” He inquired loudly.

"N-Not really... I just," Hinata paused and bit his lip, considering if what he was about to say was worth saying or not. He opened his mouth to continue speaking, but a short croak escaped before he could get any words out. Oikawa couldn't see it, but he expected that the boy's face was red. It really was quite cute when he blushed. When the first year finally did manage to speak again, he spoke in a much quieter voice. "I just wondered if you wanted to join me for lunch."

Oikawa gave a soft hum as he pretended to consider it. There was no way he was going to turn down such an opportunity.

"Sure!" He replied in a nearly melodic tone.

"Really??" The Karasuno middle blocker rounded the corner of the pillar and stood in front of Oikawa, his eyes shimmering with elation.

" _Well, that's a curious reaction..._ " Oikawa said in the back of his mind, one corner of his mouth quirking up into a slight smirk.

"Mm. I only have a few errands left to finish up, so this shouldn't be a problem," he responded offhandedly. He gestured down the road towards the area with the restaurants, and Hinata took that as a cue to begin moving that way. "Care to accompany me for those as well? Or do you have something else to do after lunch?"

"No, I've completely finished what I came here to do," Hinata admitted while shaking his head, a tiny smile on his face. "So, if you wouldn't mind...?"

"I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want you to come, Chibi-chan."

"O-Okay..."

* * *

 

Lunch passed rather uneventfully, the two of them doing nothing more than talking about volleyball and their shared annoyances stemming from Kageyama. Oikawa wasn't sure why he did it since Hinata played for an opposing team that could end up being a pain to deal with if his own team faced them during the Inter-high, but he gave the tiny middle blocker advice on how to improve his serve. The starstruck look on the other's face as Oikawa spoke about his experiences in volleyball was reason enough for him to boast about his skills.

The bell hanging on the handle jingled as Hinata pushed the door of the the cafe open. Oikawa winced when the door swung shut behind them, the bell colliding with the wooden frame and creating a jarring clanking sound. When asked where he needed to stop, he listed off the items that he still needed to buy. A small laugh slipped out of Hinata mouth as he realised that one of the things that he needed to get was on the opposite side of the town.

They quickly took care of two out of the three errands that the Seijou captain had left, saving the one on the other side of town for last. It turned out to be a small music shop. The dulcet tones of a piano and a violin performing an intricate duet emanated from the speakers situated in the upper corners of the shop. The scents of wood, waxes, and oils wafted through the store, lingering in the nose only for the first few seconds after entering.

"Do you play an instrument, Grand K-" Hinata cut himself off at the look that Oikawa gave him, remembering the conversation that they had in the cafe when he referred to him as Grand King directly to his face, and he quickly corrected himself. "Oikawa-san?"

Oikawa smiled at the correction and nodded. "I do."

Hinata made a small sound of excitement at the newfound knowledge and bounded over to him like an overly energetic dog. A deep chuckle slipped past Oikawa’s lips. He could almost see floppy ears perking up and a long tail wagging back and forth. The urge to pet him was overwhelming.

"What instrument do you play?"

"They're called bagpipes. Have you heard of them?" The setter asked, glancing between the items in a glass case and the short redhead next to him. The tilt of Hinata's head in response and the confused expression spreading across his face gave him his answer. "I figured as much. They're much more popular in European countries than they are here in Japan."

"Ooooooooh," Hinata gave a nod of his head in understanding. He fidgeted slightly in place before opening his mouth again. "W-Would you play them for me sometime?"

Oikawa shrugged and smiled brightly at him while moving towards the counter in the back. "Sure, why not."

He leaned against the counter and glanced around for the shop owner, but there was no sign of her. He reached over and tapped lightly on the bell next to a display with clarinet reeds. He listened closely and soon heard the sound of rapid footsteps moving towards the door behind the counter. The door creaked open, and out stepped a middle-aged woman, her black hair tied up into a bun centered on the back of her head.

"Ah, Tooru-kun," The woman greeted him with a gentle smile. "I have your new maintenance kit in the back. Let me go get that for you."

She disappeared into the back again and returned a few seconds later, carrying a mid-sized plastic box. She set it down on the counter and tapped on the keys of the cash register. Glancing over at Hinata, she gave him an inclination of her head, greeting him as well. Hinata responded with a bow of his own head in a small, non-vocal greeting.

"I'll be with you in a minute."

"Ah! He's with me, Tsururugi-san," Oikawa told her hastily with a miniscule wave of his hand.

"Oh?" The shop owner's eyebrows shot up in surprise and almost disappeared into her hair. "You're usually with Hajime-kun, aren't you?"

Oikawa gave a sheepish smile in return, scratching lightly at the back of his head. "I forgot to tell him that I was coming into town, so he already had plans for today."

She nodded in understanding, and they exchanged a few more words while Oikawa paid for the maintenance kit. She moved out from behind the counter and accompanied them to the front door, waving as they exited and started to make their way to the train station.

They arrived at the station rather quickly as it was only a few blocks down from the music shop. After checking the times for their trains, they exchanged phone numbers and email addresses. Hinata's train arrived at the station first, and he boarded it without hesitation. The train began to depart, and Oikawa watched the first year wave at him through the window of the train, giving him a smile that was nearly as bright as the light of the sun at mid-day. The captain stumbled back and clutched at his chest, a heavy blush forming on his face.

"What the heck was that?"

* * *

 

Meeting up in town to shop or simply hang out together became a normal thing for Oikawa and Hinata. Occasionally, Iwaizumi or a member of Karasuno's volleyball club would join them on their outing, but most of the time, it was just the two of them. They had grown much closer over a short span of time. Kageyama was less than pleased about this development and tried to stop Hinata from seeing Oikawa anymore, but all that had succeeded in doing was making the small ball of sunshine furious.

The Seijou captain still hadn't had a chance to play his bagpipes for Hinata yet, but he planned to change that tonight. He knew it was probably a dumb idea, but he wanted to serenade the boy. At three in the morning. Outside his house. He cringed as he thought over his impulse idea once again.

" _Well, it's too late to turn back now_ ," he thought to himself while he sat in a 24 hour cafe, dressed in a simple button down shirt and a kilt as well as socks and sneakers. He could have gone with the full highland dress, but it was ridiculously hot and humid out, and he did not want to wear all of that in that kind of weather. Even though he wasn't in full dress, he still received strange looks from the other patrons.

The clock struck 2:45, and Oikawa stood up from his chair finally, preparing to leave. He grabbed his things, and departed the cafe, still feeling the intense stares of the others following him out the door. He moved slowly down the dark, silent streets, trying to make sure that he didn't accidentally trip and break anything. His mother would kill him if he broke anything, including himself.

The trip from the cafe to Hinata's house didn't take as long as he had been expecting it to, and he stood below the boy's window, preparing himself. All of the lights were off in the house, as he had expected, and he hoped that he wouldn't end up disturbing anyone else in the household. He was lucky that Hinata's house was rather isolated, as it meant that he wouldn't end up disturbing any other households.

A few moments before 3am, Oikawa sent Hinata a text message, asking him if he was still awake. He was surprised by the quickness of the reply, and he saw the light in the first year's room flicker on. An elated smile spread across his face, and, just as the hands on his watch marked 3 o'clock, he placed the mouthpiece of the bagpipes to his lips and began to play a slow, soft tune.

The window of Hinata's room slid open at the speed of light, and the head of bright orange hair popped out, wildly looking around for the source of the sound. His eyes widened as they finally landed on Oikawa.

"O-Oikawa-san?!"

Oikawa simply stared up at him in response, his eyes glinting with mischief. He watched Hinata shut the window and then move away from it. The elder boy frowned and continued playing, hoping that the younger teen would return. He wasn't expecting the back door to slide open, but it did, and out came the same tiny boy, dressed in a cute pair of bright blue pajamas. He moved quickly over the grass towards Oikawa until he stood in front of him.

Oikawa made eye contact with Hinata and continued to play, the corners of his lips tilting up ever so slightly. Once he finished the song, he lowered his instrument and set it down on top of its case.

"Th-That was really great, Oikawa-san, but," Hinata swallowed heavily, "why are you doing this at three in the morning?"

"I'm not really sure, to be completely honest," Oikawa admitted with a small, sheepish laugh, still refusing to break eye contact with the other. "I just realised that I still hadn't played my bagpipes for you like I promised a while back. I sort of acted on impulse."

"O-Oh..."

"I do have one more thing that I want to ask you, though, Shou-chan."

A bright grin spread across Oikawa's face, and he took the middle blocker's hands into his own, pulling him closer. Hinata blushed at the sudden closeness and hesitantly nodded, giving him the go-ahead.

"Go out with me."


End file.
